The Jewish Communist Union in Ukraine ( yi, אידישער קאמוניסטישער פארבאנד אויף אוקראינע), also known as ''Komfarband'' (קאמפארבאנד), was a Jewish communist

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. ''Komfarband'' was formed on May 22, 1919, through the merger of the Jewish Communist Labour Bund (''Kombund'') and the United Jewish Communist Party (''Komfareynikte'').The ''Komfarband'' had some 4,000 members.

Moisei Rafes Moisei Rafes, ''Moishe Rafes'' uk, Моисей Григорьевич Рафес, ''Moysey Hryhorovych Rafes'' (3 November 1883 – 1942) was a prominent Jewish politician of the Ukrainian People's Republic as the Bundist representative. After ...

and Mikhail Levitan were key leaders of ''Komfarband''. The newspaper ''

Komunistishe fon ''Komunistishe fon'' ( yi, קאָמוניסטישע פֿאָן, 'Communist Banner'), also known as ''Komfon'', was a Soviet Yiddish newspaper published in Kiev 1919–1924. The newspaper was the result of the merger of two previously non-communist ...

'' was the organ of ''Komfarband''. ''Komfarband'' had three members in the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee of Soviets. On July 4, 1919 the Central Committee of ''Komfarband'' sent a memorandum to the Ukrainian People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs, urging it to shut down Zionist political organizations and their related educational and cultural institutions. The memorandum was followed by crack-down on the Zionist leadership in Ukraine. A few days later, commenting on the offensive against the Zionists, Rafes stated that the actions had been taken on the initiative of the Jewish communists and that the actions was an expression of 'Jewish civil war' and 'concretization of the dictatorship of the proletariat on the 'Jewish street'.' On July 16, 1919 ''Komfarband'' held a party conference in Kiev, which requested a merger with the

Communist Party (bolshevik) of Ukraine The Communist Party of Ukraine ( uk, Комуністична Партія України ''Komunistychna Partiya Ukrayiny'', КПУ, ''KPU''; russian: Коммунистическая партия Украины) was the founding and ruling ...

. ''Komfarband'' sought to be recognized as an autonomous Jewish organization within the CP(b)U. The CP(b)U rejected this request, but by mid-August 1919 allowed individual members of ''Komfarband'' to become party members. ''Komfarband'' members took active part in the struggle against

Anton Denikin Anton Ivanovich Denikin (russian: Анто́н Ива́нович Дени́кин, link= ; 16 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New St ...

White Army The White Army (russian: Белая армия, Belaya armiya) or White Guard (russian: Бѣлая гвардія/Белая гвардия, Belaya gvardiya, label=none), also referred to as the Whites or White Guardsmen (russian: Бѣлогв� ...

in August 1919. 1,757 former members of the ''Komfarband'' joined the CP(b)U in 1919. ''Komunistishe fon'' became the organ of the Jewish sections of the CP(b)U.

References

{{Left-wing parties in Ukraine 1919 disestablishments in Ukraine 1919 in Ukraine Defunct communist parties in Ukraine Jewish anti-Zionism in Ukraine Jewish political parties Jewish Ukrainian history Political parties established in 1919 Political parties of minorities in Ukraine Political parties of the Russian Revolution Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Secular Jewish culture in Ukraine